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Operating Systems

An operating system (OS) is a collection of software that manages computer hardware resources and provides common services for computer programs. The operating system is a vital component of the system software in a computer system. Application programs require an operating system to function.

Time-sharing operating systems schedule tasks for efficient use of the system and may also include accounting for cost allocation of processor time, mass storage, printing, and other resources.

For hardware functions such as input and output and memory allocation, the operating system acts as an intermediary between programs and the computer hardware, although the application code is usually executed directly by the hardware and will frequently make a system call to an OS function or be interrupted by it. Operating systems can be found on almost any device that contains a computer—from cellular phones and video game consoles to supercomputers and web servers.

9 Recent Stories

It looks like iOS 7 is making some users sick -- quite literally. If you, like most, jumped to download the latest upgrade when it became available on Sept. 18, you probably noticed the zooming transitions and parallax effects of Apple's newest opera...

Version 11.04 of Ubuntu has hit the streets, and it's packing new features that make it even easier to use. The free download was released to the public on Thursday. This new version, affectionately known by its makers as "Natty Narwhal," has a new U...

Apple released the first developer preview of Mac OS X Lion Thursday, offering a glimpse of what can be expected from the next iteration of its desktop operating system. Slated for release this summer, Mac OS X Lion is all about fusing the worlds of ...

The Italian Windows website "Windowsette" somehow managed to get a hold of a super-secret, highly confidential PowerPoint presentation outlining many of Microsoft's goals and plans for Windows 8. Apparently this sensitive data (complete with UNDER ND...

Google's operating system Chrome OS, originally announced in July 2009, will debut this fall. There are still many unknowns about the OS, but we know that it will be a free operating system based on the Chrome browser, targeted at netbooks and design...

It's official: Microsoft got it right this time. After the mistake that was Vista, Windows 7 was greeted like the second coming, and it many ways it really was better than its predecessor: less annoying, faster, smoother, more compatible with various...

Earlier today, Google revealed new details about Google Chrome OS, the search giant's attempt to redefine the operating system and push society and technology even farther onto the web. We're here live at the Google Chrome OS press conference, and fr...

The NPD Group has some figures now from the Windows 7 launch, and are reporting that the new Microsoft operating system is selling well -- or at least, much better than Vista did at its launch. In the first few days of sales, Windows 7 units in the U...

After the dust from the Snow Leopard and Windows 7 launch has settled, we have another important OS launch: the new version of one of the most popular Linux distributions, Ubuntu 9.10, is available for download. Named Karmic Koala, the new Ubuntu - a...

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